Media city to be set up in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on October 19, said a media city would be set up in the federal capital, having facilities for production and uplinking through satellites.

He said the concept of the city was part of government’s policy to further strengthen the media, which already was playing a key role in country’s socio-economic uplift.

He said a number of development activities in the federal capital were on the anvil, including construction of two new five-star hotels. He said the Civil Aviation Authority had been given directions for immediate implementation on the project of Islamabad International airport.

The prime minister was talking to a delegation of members of parliament from Gujranwala Division, including Chairman Kashmir Committee Hamid Nasir Chattha, Chairman NRB Daniyal Aziz.

The prime minister said the new construction would boost economic activity, create new jobs and help ancillary industry.

He said the government was removing bottlenecks to speed up the process of industrialisation and privatisation in the country.

He said under the government-private partnership, textile cities, garment cities and industrial estates would be set up across the country. These, he said, would cater to specific industries which would deal with export goods.

He said the setting up of public affairs wing at the Prime Minister Secretariat was to ensure completion of development schemes, proposed by the public representatives.

He asked the parliamentarians to coordinate with the local government officials and hear complaints of the public in open house sessions.

He said agriculture played a key role in the country’s economy and said measures were being taken to provide clean drinking water to the people in the villages.

The MNAs discussed various development schemes in their respective constituencies.

On the proposal of a member from Sialkot that duty on medicines for Hepatitis-B be waived, Prime Minister said there was no duty on life-saving drugs.